--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a…" description: "\"Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a week talking to Proust and another conversing with the Holy Ghost.\" — Edna O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png" --- # Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a week talking to… ![“Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a week talking to Proust and another conversing with the Holy Ghost.” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png) > “Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a week talking to Proust and another conversing with the Holy Ghost.” [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desires a balance of intellectual and spiritual dialogue in leisure time. **In simple terms:** Wants deep conversation with literature and faith. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful conversations regularly. Themes intellectual curiosity spiritual longing leisure literature faith Mood thoughtful hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - evening gatherings - book clubs - spiritual retreats - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism dialogue personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you incorporate both literary and spiritual discussions into routine? - What small steps bring depth to everyday chats? A Different Perspective May be idealistic, hard to find such partners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Holy ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-ghost/) [Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proust/) [Proust Conversing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proust-conversing-4761410/) [Spend Evenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-evenings-548778/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Talking Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-proust-4761411/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Week Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week-talking-435703/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of friendship is about practice, that’s something I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older. It’s not simply some spiritual soul-bond of memories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/a-lot-of-friendship-is-about-practice-that-s-something-i-ve-learned/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [I'm very quiet. I can go a whole week without talking, so doing interviews is really awkward for me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-leung/i-m-very-quiet-i-can-go-a-whole-week-without-talking-so-doing/) [Katie Leung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-leung/) > [I can pretty much spend an entire week talking about how the writing process works, to be honest! It can really vary from project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/i-can-pretty-much-spend-an-entire-week-talking-about-how-the-writing/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [I spend most of my evenings grinding into the early morning to my favorite music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-jones/i-spend-most-of-my-evenings-grinding-into-the-early-morning-to-my/) [Alex Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-jones/) > [I actually like being alone. I spend most evenings reading and taking long baths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/i-actually-like-being-alone-i-spend-most-evenings-reading-and-taking/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [As the people grow colder, I turn to my computer and spend my evenings with it like a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/as-the-people-grow-colder-i-turn-to-my-computer-and-spend-my-evenings/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [I'm at work by 8 or 8:30, and when I get home every night, my wife and I walk around the lawn. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell/i-m-at-work-by-8-or-8-30-and-when-i-get-home-every-night-my-wife-and/) [Jerry Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell/) > [I don't party on weekends, I don't get drunk or sip martinis. I spend my evenings playing 'Megaman 3,' buster only, with my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cawthon/i-don-t-party-on-weekends-i-don-t-get-drunk-or-sip-martinis-i-spend/) [Scott Cawthon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cawthon/) > [“Proust is famous for his rhapsodies on hawthorns but his book has only three of these, whereas there are thirteen scenes in brothels, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-foley/proust-is-famous-for-his-rhapsodies-on-hawthorns-but-his-book-has/) [Michael Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-foley/) > [“Memory, personal and historical, is often accompanied by moralistic sentiment. Nostalgia is an act of escapism and self-indulgence, but to forget the past is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-glinter/memory-personal-and-historical-is-often-accompanied-by-moralistic/) [Ezra Glinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-glinter/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“She couldn't demand that Mrs. Proust get off the bed; it wasn't her bed. It wasn't her castle. She smiled. In fact it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/she-couldn-t-demand-that-mrs-proust-get-off-the-bed-it-wasn-t-her-bed/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Events like this don't give me the sense of oneness others seem to enjoy; it's always been private occasions that make me feel connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/events-like-this-don-t-give-me-the-sense-of-oneness-others-seem-to/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [You know, the more grown-up you are, the more you like Proust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/you-know-the-more-grown-up-you-are-the-more-you-like-proust/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) ## More by Edna O'Brien > [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [You have to be lonely to be a writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/you-have-to-be-lonely-to-be-a-writer/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [I crossed the room, and what you did was to feel my hair over and over again and in different ways, touch it, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/i-crossed-the-room-and-what-you-did-was-to-feel-my-hair-over-and-over/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [We hide the truer part of ourselves when we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/we-hide-the-truer-part-of-ourselves-when-we-love/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Movie people are possessed by demons, but a very low form of demons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/movie-people-are-possessed-by-demons-but-a-very-low-form-of-demons/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Ordinary life bypassed me, but I also bypassed it. It couldn't have been any other way.Conventional life and conventional people are not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ordinary-life-bypassed-me-but-i-also-bypassed-it-it-couldn-t-have/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“A healer! The beauty of the word a balm. In a mounting astonishment she hears how this man heals with his own blood, pricks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-healer-the-beauty-of-the-word-a-balm-in-a-mounting-astonishment-she/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“If I could feel like myself I’d thank God but I don’t feel and never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/if-i-could-feel-like-myself-i-d-thank-god-but-i-don-t-feel-and-never/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [...people liking you or not liking you is an accident and is to do with them and not you. That goes for love too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/people-liking-you-or-not-liking-you-is-an-accident-and-is-to-do-with/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“tears running down her cheeks and her nose, tears from the cold and the prospect of being absent for weeks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/tears-running-down-her-cheeks-and-her-nose-tears-from-the-cold-and/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“laughter filling that end of the ward, overflowing, one bringing a chair for Eleanora, another a cup of coffee, marveling that at long last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/laughter-filling-that-end-of-the-ward-overflowing-one-bringing-a/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“Dilly reckons it would be difficult to thread those needles, the eyes so small, especially with her cataracts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/dilly-reckons-it-would-be-difficult-to-thread-those-needles-the-eyes/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) [Explore all 182 Edna O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## More Evening quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/the-evening-s-the-best-part-of-the-day-you-ve-done-your-day-s-work/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I love to work in football, so for me it's not work. I'm not here first in the morning and last in the evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-farke/i-love-to-work-in-football-so-for-me-it-s-not-work-i-m-not-here-first/) [Daniel Farke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-farke/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [When I was very young my mother sang to me at bedtime and my dad would often play the banjo or fiddle in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-block/when-i-was-very-young-my-mother-sang-to-me-at-bedtime-and-my-dad/) [Rory Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-block/) > [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I don’t know, I don’t know that I’m missing anything. I just think too much sometimes. Sometimes I’m even happy because I’m so engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-that-i-m-missing-anything-i-just-think-too/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [What truly gives me joy is when I get a letter from a young woman who says they saw a programme, then read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-worsley/what-truly-gives-me-joy-is-when-i-get-a-letter-from-a-young-woman-who/) [Lucy Worsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-worsley/) > [...nothing wonderful lasted forever. Joy was as fleeting as a shooting star that crossed the evening sky, ready to blink out at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/nothing-wonderful-lasted-forever-joy-was-as-fleeting-as-a-shooting/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I do a lot of writing in my capacity as the creative director for a marketing agency. These days, though, I'm trying to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/i-do-a-lot-of-writing-in-my-capacity-as-the-creative-director-for-a/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [Tonight I have inundated you with the mystical kundalini. Now, of course, I'm moving into the supra-conscious; it's kind of a doubleheader this evening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/tonight-i-have-inundated-you-with-the-mystical-kundalini-now-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Can You see that as soon as the day breaks I think of You? As evening comes, I am near You. I am near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-galgani/can-you-see-that-as-soon-as-the-day-breaks-i-think-of-you-as-evening/) [Gemma Galgani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-galgani/) [Browse all 1,949 Evening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a week talking to Proust and another conversing with the Holy Ghost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edna O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a-week-talking-to-proust-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a-week-talking-to-proust-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/edna-o-brien-2155_evening_ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a_2189058.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ideally I'd like to spend two evenings a week talking to Proust and another conversing with the Holy Ghost.” — Edna O'Brien", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edna O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ideally I'd like to spend two...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a-week-talking-to-proust-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ideally-i-d-like-to-spend-two-evenings-a-week-talking-to-proust-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```